Light on the dark side of me
by HitTheRoad
Summary: AU. What if Lenore didn't die? What if Ragamuffin wasn't cursed to be a doll? What if she grew up and met him in completely different circumstances? A vampire Ragamuffin / grown-up, alive Lenore story, which takes place at the beginning of the 1900's.
1. Prologue

Summary: What if Lenore didn't die? What if Ragamuffin wasn't cursed to be a doll? What if she grew up and met him in completely different circumstances? A vampire Ragamuffin / grown-up, alive Lenore story, which takes place during Lenore's adulthood, at the beginning of the 1900's.

**Warning**: May contain bad language, some graphic, T/M rated scenes. Lenore will be a little OOC, because she isn't a kid anymore. It will be a more mature, less oblivious Lenore. Also, English is not my first language, but I'll try to write as properly as I can.

…

It was happening. Music and laughs were coming from downstairs, where almost all her acquaintances were joyously blended into a crowd that was scattering in the imposing house's biggest room. And even some other persons she didn't even know, business men that knew her father or elegant ladies that her mother spent time with, after she told her that she didn't have time to spend it with her own daughter. The grand living room, where her more-than-wealthy parents used to organize ceremonies and parties.

She loved people. Well, not more than she loved animals, but people were her second favorite beings in the world. Ok, maybe she loved butterflies more, too. And flowers. Did flowers count as beings?

She didn't know for sure. Since she was a little girl, she had always had this tendency to daydream and think about random things, even in the most serious, important situations. Her mother always reprimanded her about it, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't been aware that she was doing it, until she reached 14, but she was sure now she could control that urge. To an extent. Or at least, she thought she could.

She used to accidentally step on ants, kill birds and strangle cats, but she didn't mean to. She loved them. She loved everything. Except for guys who chased after her. She hated those, she even had the instinct to murder them, but it wasn't moral to do so. She was educated and she was completely aware that killing was out of league for people who lived in a society. Even though she almost did it to a boy called Gosh, when she was ten, because he kept sustaining that they were going to marry one day.

Fortunately for both of them, the boy's mother came at the right moment to stop her from strangling him with that rope she found in his backyard. Since then, she had never played with the boy again, because his terrified mother forbade him to meet "the creepy, blonde girl", as she called her. Funnily enough, she was actually relieved about it, because she couldn't stand Gosh. He still followed her after that, for a while, which woke her horrifying thoughts about killing him again, but he gave up after two years, when he moved from Nevermore along with his family.

Lifting her head, she studied herself in the large mirror that was hung on her bedroom wall, above the night table. A pair of blue eyes stared right back into hers and long, blonde hair covered her shoulders in a curtain. The white dress that she had been clothed with, by her maid, fit her quite well. She looked impeccable, just like her mother wanted.

After all, it was her 19th birthday, so it was proper to look like this.

Her longing gaze fell on the two small hairclips that she had loved to wear since she was little. Skull shaped hairclips that her parents hated, because they thought she looked unusual and quite strange in a way that invoked some sort of fear in those who saw her with them. She couldn't blame them. She liked creepy, even morbid things, which always offered her this unfavorable image in front of her family and town residents.

In fact, if she thought better, none of the guests who attended her birthday celebration probably came for her. Most were there just to form connections or strengthen bonds with her influent, rich parents. She smiled at little.

It was alright. She didn't need friends. She had some a few years ago, but they eventually went away, after they knew her better.

A few honks were heard in front of the mansion. She ignored them at first, but after the honks repeated, the curiosity got the best of her and determined her to pull aside the mauve curtains and look in the mansion's yard. A brand new, black Ford Model T was stopped right in front of the house, quite far away from the other parked cars, which only meant one of two things. The visitor either didn't intention to attend the party, or he just wanted to attract attention to his new acquisition. And she had the feeling it was the second choice.

Two knocks at her door woke her up from her reverie and she didn't even have the chance to respond, because the maid suddenly burst in, looking quite agitated.

"My lady!" If she didn't know better she would think the maid was going to faint from nervousness. She wrung her hands as she shifted her eyes in every other place except her face. "I'm sorry I have to be the one to give you the news, but your mother said she didn't have time to tell you and-"

"What is it, Martha?" She asked impatiently. That was one of her weak points. She had little patience and she couldn't stand when she had to wait for other people.

"W-well." Martha mumbled. She inhaled. "I know this will be a little frustrating, but I swear I didn't know about it either, because I've just found out about it, from your parents. But I swear I would have told you if I knew!"

"Tell me already or I'm going to hurt you." She deadpanned.

The maid gulped and pursed her lips.

"Alright, my lady." She slowly began. There was a pause, which was quite long, and even unbearably longer for her as she started to dig her nails into her palms into a gesture of annoyance. She always tried her best to act nice to the servants, but sometimes it seemed ridiculously impossible.

"Your possible consort has just arrived."

The maid cringed, as she tried to read her face, but she didn't even sketch an emotion. Her face remained blank, as doubt and confusion were clouding her mind.

What was all that about? Consort?

As if. She knew her parents' bad custom of trying to set her up with various gentlemen, but it never worked. She always found a way through which she got rid of them, usually by creeping them out. It was quite amusing, actually. Marriage was for girls who had nothing better to do with their lives but bow down at someone else's feet, metaphorically speaking, and being tied to another, which, to her, it appeared infuriating and unacceptable. That was why she always detested men who courted her. She couldn't be tied to someone else for the rest of her life. It was a principle that contrasted with the world she lived in, especially with her parents' own principles, although she didn't give a damn.

She just wanted to live with lots and lots of animals, especially kitties. Those were her favorites.

"My lady?" The hesitant voice interrupted her train of thought again. She turned her head and smiled at Martha, who visibly relaxed and returned a small smile.

"You can go." She murmured, still thoughtful. The maid turned around, prepared to leave her bedroom, but she stopped right before she opened the door and looked at her once more.

"Do you want to leave a message to your parents through me?"

She shook her head.

"No. I'll talk to them myself."

Martha nodded, then bowed and left her in the silence that was vaguely disturbed by the voices coming from the party held down below.

She threw one last look at the mirror, before she smoothed her dress' folds and went out, a few minutes after the maid. As she descended the stairs, the noise was getting louder and louder, until she got at the bottom of the steps, where she was enveloped in the ruckus, as various, unknown people passed near her, without even realizing she was actually the birthday girl. She snorted at the splendor of the room, at the elegance of the visitors, at the servants who carried different plates and ran from one corner of the room to the other, serving attractive dishes. She sneaked around one of them, snatched some sort of delicious looking, small cake and stuffed it into her mouth.

She mingled with the party-goers in the search of some guests' pets, but no one had come with their own animals, which made her deflate and want to return to her bedroom and go to sleep. It was almost her time of sleep, anyway.

Or maybe she could go and take a walk into the town, without anyone noticing it, and perhaps find some cat or dog that could keep her company. That would be nice. But it was too dark outside already and her parents would go mad if they observed her absence.

So she still had to wait for that dumb consort to present himself after all.

"Damn it." She growled. The words had come out too loud.

"You know I prohibited you to swear, Lenore." A hand grasped her shoulder tighter than necessary. She turned her head to see an older version of herself- in fact,_ she_ was actually the younger version-, along with a tall, dark haired man, who, as always, had the stony expression planted on his face.

Her parents.

Lenore faced them and remained passive, calmly awaiting their explanation for the Ford's presence in front of the house. Her mother appeared quite thrilled about it, while her father, even though he was deadpan, was giving a small, vague sign that he was anticipating this too.

"One of the richest men in town has asked your hand in marriage, Lenore! You'll soon be engaged to Howard Wilbur!" Her mother exclaimed, on the verge of happiness.

And that was how the bad part of the night began. This annoying guy finally decided he wanted to marry her and came onto her family, constraining her into sharing her life with him, while she still felt like she was part of a childhood. She felt like she was young, _too young _for this and this claw scraped at her chest every time the thought crossed her mind.

She, of course, didn't say much. She let those people surround her and congratulate her for her birthday and for finding a fiancé. She let her parents talk instead of her. She let that guy, Willard or Millard or whatever his name was, kiss the back of her hand in courtesy – although she hurriedly wiped it on the table cloth after it- , she let him hold her hand – because her parents made her-, she let him embrace her- only for a second because her elbow "accidentally" kicked him in the gut after that. The events were tiring and irritating, but she managed not to wreck anything or say something out of place. For the time being.

It was boring as well, as she had to assist at the monotone conversations those people were involved in, conversations about politics, social gatherings and other dull events that had nothing to do with her interests. They didn't even offer her the opportunity to make herself known better.

To them, she was just a cute, blonde young lady that was going to be that guy's wife, who was quite popular, apparently.

After two long, wearying hours, she was definitely decided to leave that crowded, suffocating room, until someone's words attracted her attention for the first time in that night.

"…and that monster returned to this town again, after nine years."

The word 'monster' was definitely interesting.

More than ten heads turned into the direction of the voice. It was an older man, in his mid fifties, the one who spoke. Most seemingly knew what the man was talking about, because some widened their eyes in fear, while others remained in shock. Her parents knew, too, as they threw her cautious, worried looks.

"We found a woman's slaughtered body last night." The man carried on. "It's definitely one of his savage works." He shook his head in disgust, while some gasped in horror. "The poor thing was half eaten."

Now he definitely caught everyone's attention, as exclamations and whispers filled the entire room. There were a few who didn't know what he was talking about, although they were young, just like her.

"Oh my goodness. I thought he vanished completely when he left our town." Her mother interfered appalled.

"He almost did." The man retorted. "We got notice from other eastern countries that he was roaming somewhere around there, but he didn't kill more than one or two persons during this time. Not from what we've found out. I'm afraid his hunting session has started again."

A dead silence froze the air. She was so lost that she got frustrated. What was going on? Something that slaughtered and ate people? She always thought those were just made up stories. It was quite ridiculous actually.

"Ok." Lenore broke the silence. "What's up with this monster?"

People throughout the room shifted in uneasiness and, of course, no one bothered to reply. Her mother hesitated, before she opened her mouth to answer, but her father interrupted her.

"I don't think Lenore needs to be told about this, Evelyn." They exchanged strange looks and now she was definitely decided to find out about it.

"Yes, I do." She protested. "I think everyone needs to know about this, since it's dangerous. Or we can end up just like that woman." Alright, it wasn't like she cared about it. She was just really curious and it was funny to see those people believed she was a mature, considerate girl.

Her father furrowed his brow and rubbed his temple in an attempt to calm himself. After a minute or two, in which Lenore almost boiled due to impatience, he relented.

"You were really young when he started attacking this town. I believe you were about ten years old."

She enlarged her eyes when memories of a general, silent panic danced in front of her eyes. Oh, she remembered it very well. But she was too young to care then and those warning posters the townspeople stuck on every building's wall, with that guy's face printed on them, only contributed to her fun.

"You remember that he was everywhere. In the newspaper, in people's conversations, on the walls." He told her.

"'Beware of the Ragamuffin.'" There was a slight pause. "That's what everyone said."

So he was a serial killer who was given a title. It wasn't that big of a deal. In those times, serial killers were almost everywhere and they almost always created panic through citizens.

"Ragamuffin is a vampire, young lady." The old man said. "He's a vampire that _eats_ people."

Lenore remained petrified. She felt her lips starting to tremble, as the corners of her mouth lifted up in a restrained smile. Her chuckles disturbed some, who frowned at her insensitiveness and unladylike behavior.

"A vampire?" She wiped a small, escaped tear from the corner of the eye. "I love people. They're so funny."

"It's true, Lenore." That Willow guy, who annoyed the heck out of her, tried to convince her. The idea of implanting a sharp object into his head passed through her mind, but she ignored it. Now she was really preoccupied with the vampire subject.

"He has been spotted flying by many and the damages we found on his victims were too serious to be committed just by an ordinary human. There have also been dates of him since the 16th century." The old man explained. "It's hard to believe, but…"

She listened with every fiber she had and she didn't even observe she was holding her breath in amazement.

"They really exist." The man completed his sentence, while she stood still as a statue. It was the fantastic she always dreamt about. It was extraordinary. Astonishing. Absolutely perfect.

"And this one is more horrifying that any other story ever told."


	2. Encounter in the obscure

**Disclaimer:** _Lenore the cute little dead girl_ belongs to Roman Dirge.

…

Noise was around her as she sat in the backseat of the Ford, brooding and unbelievably irked by the situation in which she found herself right then.

It turned out that the next day, right in the morning, Howard Wilbur had sent a car after Lenore to bring her to his house and know her better. Her mother thought it was a brilliant solution and decided she should accompany her, at least until she got there, because, quoting, "it was too dangerous for Lenore to be left alone just with an unknown driver, especially since there was quite the panic in the town due to the horror the vampire has spread". Lenore failed to understand how her mother would protect her if they were suddenly attacked, but she didn't comment. Now Evelyn was sitting next to her, quietly smiling and looking out the window, probably thinking how lucky she was that her daughter was soon going to be wedded and gone from their home. Lenore got even angrier at the idea, which made the frown on her face even more visible.

She definitely had to do something about it, before it was too late.

Maybe she didn't have many alternatives, because her parents were pretty decided on sending her to that man's house for good and few options would change their mind. One would be her convincing them that she was too young and that her consort was a creepy guy who was probably going to make her do various other creepy activities- her mother was too overprotective not to be convinced by that, but she needed proof, too, so it was pretty difficult. Two would be her acting creepy and showing her strange part, which was definitely the most efficient option. Plus, she had used that before on the other men her parents wanted her to marry with and it worked marvelously. Her mouth curved upward into a small smirk.

She was never going to be married to anyone. Never.

If she wanted to get rid of that bothersome guy, she would have to act as quickly as possible.

Lenore stood silently and thought intensely about what she should do to weird him out, but it didn't last long because a small crowd of people gathered on the street attracted her attention. One of them was holding a speech as the others listened intently and, after the car got closer, she could hear it as well. He was apparently persuading them to revolt against the vampire, catch him and destroy him, because the authorities were too slow. The second victim was found after the first murdered woman from last night and the situation was getting worse and worse.

Lenore didn't manage to hear more, although she was able to see the many posters stuck on the walls with the vampire's picture, the same one that was used nine years ago. Her mother fidgeted near her and she suddenly felt her slip something into her hand. Lenore turned her head and looked at the small, silver cross from her palm.

"…What?"

"For protection." Evelyn explained dead serious. "I've read in some books that vampires fear crosses." She patted Lenore's hair that was tied up with a white piece of silk. She snorted.

"Come on, mom, those are tales."

"So had been vampires until Ragamuffin appeared." Her mother hurriedly retorted, furrowing her brow. "It's just a precaution, dear." She took Lenore's hand and squeezed it lightly. "You're my only daughter and I don't want anything to happen to you." Lenore sighed and held her mother's hand tightly in turn. She actually didn't care in the slightest about the chaos the vampire created. She didn't even want to be protected.

"I know." She gazed at the cross and took in the miniature detail that was carved into it. "Besides, we don't even know if these work."

"Well, we must try something." She was suddenly absorbed into new thoughts, while her lips formed a tight line. "Maybe garlic would work, too, I've read about-"

Lenore chuckled lightly and shook her head at her mother's excessive care.

"Why don't you give me a stake, mom?"

"I actually thought-"

The sentence wasn't finished because the car suddenly went to a halt, as it stopped in front of a white, enormous house, which had an elegant Victorian influence in its pattern. The driver turned his head and smiled politely.

"We have arrived, madams."

Both waited in silence for the driver to step out of the vehicle and come next to Lenore's door to open it. Lenore wouldn't have waited if her mother wasn't there, because she didn't like when she was treated like she wasn't capable of doing such simple, minor things. She knew it was just a rule of courtesy, but she didn't agree with these formalities at all. And there was another reason why she didn't hurry to get out.

She had to meet Howard Wilbur and that idea wasn't in her agenda for sure.

When the driver opened up the door, her mother threw her one last worried look before she nodded and made a motion with her head that Lenore was supposed to go. And given the fact that Lenore was irremediably stubborn, she naturally didn't move an inch from her seat. She continued to look ahead, avoiding her mother's gaze which was beginning to turn into a glare.

"Step out of the car, Lenore." Evelyn spoke rigidly. She grasped Lenore's arm and tried to lightly push her out, but it was useless. She still remained immovable as a rock.

"Nah-uh. I don't want to."

Evelyn sighed exasperated and pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Please stop being so immature, Lenore. You're not ten years old anymore!" She took a large breath of air as she applied some force into moving her against her will. Lenore suddenly scrunched her features up in despair.

"But I don't want to get married!" She complained loudly. "I'm too young and I hate that stupid Willow guy!"

Her mother backed away and crossed her arms angrily.

"I was almost sure we had to come to this. You can never do what you're told, can you?" Evelyn's blue eyes were so intense that Lenore found the need to look somewhere else. "This is one of the best, if not the best choice for your future life. Howard Wilbur will offer you everything you need. You don't know how hard these times are. I married at 19 and my mother as well and every woman in our generation. This is the most convenient way!" She huffed, before she stretched her arm to push Lenore again, although they were interrupted at the right moment.

"Is there something wrong?"

They both lifted their heads to see the titular Howard Wilbur standing next to the car. Lenore expected him to be upset or at least serious since he heard a part of their conversation, but, contrarily, he was actually smiling nicely. Lenore adopted a grim expression as she refused to look at him. Her mother forced a smile instead.

"Sir Wilbur!" She exclaimed quite relieved. "Thank goodness you're here. Now you can finally take _Lenore_" At this she threw Lenore a reprimanding look. "From here. I think it has come the time for you two to get closer." She smiled wider as she grabbed Lenore's wrist and lifted it so that guy would take her hand, which he did, before he brought it to his lips. Lenore thought she was going to get sick.

"I think so, too, Mrs. Lynchfast." He smiled. He suddenly took both of them by surprise when he dragged Lenore out of the car. "Don't worry, she'll be safe with me." He reassured her, seeing Evelyn's concerned expression.

"I'm sure she will." Her mother radiantly retorted. Her demeanor changed brusquely in the following moment, when she turned to Lenore. "Behave well."

And that was about it. The driver closed the black door and started the car, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Lenore's lip trembled in nervousness. She felt so betrayed and downhearted that she didn't notice that the man next to her was still holding her hand. Only when they started returning to his mansion, Lenore felt the tightness of his arm and violently shook her hand to release herself from his grasp. He didn't say anything at the gesture. Lenore thought about running away for a moment.

His house was indeed something. It was even more sophisticated than her parents' and the decorations that adorned it reminded her of those palaces from the pictures she found in her mother's books. Lenore was pretty aware that she would definitely have an amazing time in that place. Perhaps she could convince that guy to let her live there without them getting married, but she realized it would sound like an absurd idea to everyone. _Especially_ her parents.

She stared in awe at the somewhat strange paintings that were hung on the tall walls.

Damn, it was gorgeous.

"It's quite impressive, isn't it?" He offered her a sly smile, which quirked Lenore even more. She shook her head.

"Not really, Willow." She retorted blankly, waiting for his reaction. He sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't really remembered your name." Lenore carried on, suddenly brightening. "Is it John?" He began to look dejected, which meant her plan was having its effects. "Earl? Harry? James?" She grinned. "Stop me at one."

He started smiling again and Lenore believed she almost popped a vein in her head. She suddenly felt his palm between her shoulder blades and a small shiver cursed through her entire body.

"Your parents warned me that you're going to be quite difficult to handle." His face approached hers and Lenore felt the instant need to back away repulsed. His smile then suddenly turned into a grin. "We will be married and that's settled. You won't change my mind no matter what tricks you have in mind or how horrible you'll behave, my dear Lenore. " He stated with a fake sweetness. "I need to have a presentable image in this society and a cute wife is the element that's missing from the complete picture." He smiled falsely for the umpteenth time, which induced a mixed feeling of disgust and the desire to hit him in the face.

Lenore stared at him emotionless. If he thought he impressed her, he was ridiculously wrong. She would just ignore everything he would say.

Her bun was tight and she suddenly raised her hand to loosen it, but he caught her wrist to stop her.

"Don't let your hair loose." His voice was grave and quite different from the polite, sweet one he used not more than ten seconds ago. "You have to look mature. I'm meeting some important persons in a few minutes." He explained.

Lenore snorted in derisiveness.

"Yes, alright. Like I'm going to do what you say." She untied the piece of silk and her long, blonde hair fell over her shoulders and back quite messily. She turned her head, waiting for him to appear at least irritated by her disobedience, but he was just smiling again. Frankly, she believed for a moment she was the one who was going to snap. Did this guy _ever_ get mad?

"Of course." He spoke. "I forgot you don't listen to anyone." His bright expression- no, really, Lenore actually pondered the thought of slicing that face with an axe- didn't change. Not even one bit. She actually compared him to a brain dead puppet that had a smile glued to its face for an eternity and she realized the resemblance was not unbiased at all. She figured out most business people and those who worked every minute of their lives were like that. Her father was another example, even though he didn't annoy the hell out of people by smiling every time he spoke. In fact, he was quite the opposite in this aspect: he rarely showed any emotion.

"Just be good while I'm holding the meeting. It won't last long." He told her- while smiling, naturally-, before he turned his back to her, heading towards two large, wooden doors at the end of the enormous hall.

That's when it dawned on her. She could easily sneak out and get out of there quickly, while he was not watching. It was the perfect chance to escape. Plus, he would definitely get mad if he saw she made so much trouble. Lenore threw him a quick peek, before she took a step backwards slowly, then she took another, faster than the first. She turned halfway quite excited, prepared to bolt like a-

"Don't you think about running away." His joyous voice struck her like a branch in the head. Her features contorted in annoyance, as she swiveled on her heels, facing him again, only to notice that he didn't even see her attempt at escaping, because he was still walking calmly, with his back turned to her. He just assumed that she would do it. Was she that predictable?

Lenore huffed, before she followed him quite peeved by the fact that she had to participate in the meeting, which was one of the things she despised the most.

It was going to be a long day.

Screeching of chairs, shifting and fondle entered her ears as they found themselves into an extremely large room, larger than Lenore had ever seen in her entire life. It could almost be a court room of some sorts, even though it didn't have rows, like one would. In fact, it appeared to be a massive, elegant living room. Except that, instead of sofas and furniture, it had an excessively long, dark wooden table with forty or fifty chairs placed around it.

Some of the chairs were already occupied by various, well dressed, presentable men, who were over thirty years old. They were standing up in respect for Howard Wilbur and each one nodded in the moment he made his entrance. He responded to all of them with one nod, before he motioned them to take their seats. They did as told and waited patiently for his words, while Lenore just remained passively behind him, having the tempting urge to yawn loudly.

"Greetings." He started beamingly, measuring each one of the people that were present in the room. "Before we start, I want to show you my fiancé and future wife, Lenore Lynchfast."

He stepped to the side, revealing a quite disheveled Lenore, who gawked at them like they were fantasy creatures. Of course, she did it unintentionally, because her nature was to be weirder than most civil human beings, although the looks on those men's faces surely suggested that they didn't know she wasn't staring at them like that on purpose. They most probably believed she was intentionally rude and this wasn't bothering her at all. In fact, she actually enjoyed it. Even so, they didn't comment on her strange expression, they just smiled politely and nodded at her, before they returned to the business that was about to be discussed. She inhaled deeply as she lazily took a seat to Howard Wilbur's right, prompting her elbow on the table and resting her head in her palm, like she didn't have any education. She could hear Howard Wilbur adjusting his voice, probably in slight embarrassment, which raised her hopes up concerning her plan to make herself unwanted by the guy.

"We have received more dates about the second event, from the authorities." A brown haired, quite simple man began the conversation, on an uneven tone. He was fidgeting nervously and Lenore observed most were quite agitated, which was particularly odd since influent men like those were always down-to-earth and stable. She guessed that the matter they were all there gathered for was serious.

"What are the news, sir Thomas?" Wilbur inquired, darkening suddenly, which relieved Lenore to an extent. Thank goodness he was able to wipe that sickening smile off his face.

"Well, the murder was particularly gruesome. We have reached various conclusions, but the most prominent one is that he is more savage than last time." The brown haired man shook his head, his skin paler than it should probably be. He seemed disturbed. A silence enveloped them as they watched Wilbur thinking about his last sentence. They hoped he wouldn't ask after all, but fortune wasn't on their side right then, hence he indeed wanted to find out details.

"How bad?" Wilbur practically whispered, his voice halfway strangled, which definitely took Lenore by surprise. She was a girl at least ten years younger than most of them and less experienced, as well, and she wasn't bothered by the situation in the slightest. Then again, as many people said, she was weirder, too.

"The victim's anatomy was oddly… exposed." Thomas retorted, fervently wiping his face with a tissue. "I'm not sure if I can be part of this anymore, sir Wilbur." He tremulously mumbled. "I'm afraid my wife and children will be in danger if I continue the investigation on the vampire."

Murmurs here heard from the others; some were protests, others were agreements. They were all conflicted as to what they were supposed to do and what actions would be useful to them in reaching their goal of catching and imprisoning the vampire and it appeared the solutions were limited.

"We must remain calm." Lenore observed for the first time the old man that had been at her birthday and told her about Ragamuffin. "I've asked the European authorities about their attempts to destroy the vampire and they said nothing worked. They have even tried to set him traps, but it's futile, because he has an impressive intelligence and he has never been tricked by anything."

Wilbur furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I don't understand. What methods did they use to attract him into traps?"

"People." The old man sighed in hopelessness. "They made various women walk alone at night on empty, dark streets. They were prepared with fire and guns in case he made his appearance, but nothing happened. They think he can sense when someone is out to attack him. That's why he never showed up where and when they wanted him to."

The excitement and curiosity that grasped Lenore right then were overwhelming. That was better than anything she could imagine. The thought of a few hundreds years old vampire, who was also practically impossible to catch, was tearing at her mind and especially her own will, which was beginning to grow more and more by the minute. She was aware that her desire of finding and meeting the vampire was irrational and irremediably dangerous, but that's what determined her to be so attached to that will. If only she discovered a method through which she could meet him and be sure that he wouldn't attack her, a method that wasn't known by anyone. But then she didn't want to be murdered either so she guessed she had to conform with the fact that her will wasn't possibly going to be fulfilled.

She wasn't capable of doing it. Despite that she believed the vampire was terribly fascinating, especially because it was impossible to find him- anyone who indeed found him, or vice versa, was apparently killed- and because she couldn't know anything concrete about him, the scandalous thought of going after Ragamuffin would mean her certain death. This frustrated her. Why was Ragamuffin like that? Why did he constantly kill people so viciously? He could at least feed in secret, without anyone knowing about his existence, but he was just letting his trail everywhere, which was spreading his infamous name in the entire world. She wanted so much to know, she was so inquisitive regarding his history and provenience that she couldn't stand it anymore.

"The picture." Lenore suddenly spoke, attracting everyone's attention. They ridiculously synchronized the movements of their heads which they all turned to her at the same time. She stopped and ogled at them taken aback, but she managed to recover quickly. "If no one has actually managed to see him clearly, how has the picture on the posters been taken?"

"There were various vague sightings of him around the world and a portrait of him was conceived, a portrait that we believe and hope it's close enough to the real one." Sir Thomas replied, still anxious and sweaty. "If only we knew his true nature, then we would have discovered his fears and weaknesses, too. The thing is, he's not like an ordinary vampire if he feeds off people, instead of drinking their blood. That's why we can't find out for sure what can harm him."

Lenore remembered the cross her mother gave her. She wondered if they pondered this possibility. Even though not many persons had access to this information, because her mother gathered it from books that belonged only to the family and were passed through generations.

Maybe it was possible for her to go on the streets if she had the cross, after all.

Her chair screeched soundly as she gradually inched closer to Wilbur. No one noticed, so it was good until then. She didn't want to look like she was desperate and enthusiastic, because she didn't want anyone to realize what she was actually planning to do. It was a madness, that was true, but no negative emotions were clouding her mind, except for the nuisance provoked by the fact that she had to bother acting falsely to convince and trick that guy into letting her out for a few minutes. She got closer and closer until she was touching the sleeve of his suit, which finally distracted his attention from the meeting. Wilbur slowly turned his head and Lenore forced out the sweetest, most fake smile, her face beginning to hurt.

"Sir Wilbur…" She started, trying with all her might to be seductive, in spite of the fact that she had never tried something like that before. It was tremendously hard as she hated being close to the fool. He responded with a larger smile when he observed her closeness and covered her hand with his.

"What is it, my dear Lenore?" Lenore put all her effort into not distorting her face in distaste at the sound of his sugary tone and especially into not jumping thirty feet away from him.

"May I be excused from this meeting? I'll wait in the hall." She swallowed heavily, sensing her stomach contents sway from too much lack of personal space. She could see his smile starting to fade, most probably due to his disbelief. He already knew what she was capable of and Lenore was sure this was going to be difficult. "Please?" Her voice turned even more high-pitched while the grin on her face was becoming more painful by the second. "I can't stand being here anymore. The vampire subject is too terrifying." She lamented, feeling somewhat contemptible and silly. She had no choice. It was the only way.

Remorse and understanding enveloped those men's expressions and Lenore was almost confident that she was going to obtain her purpose.

"Let the young lady go, Howard." The old man spoke. "I think she has heard enough." The others muttered agreements and Wilbur gave a long exhale, gazing at Lenore with a little more trust.

"Alright." He stated with a small smile. Lenore stood up abruptly enthusiastic. "But only if one of my servants accompanies you." She froze.

"But…" She trailed off. "Why don't you trust me?" She dramatized, pulling a sorrowful expression off. "I'm nineteen after all, I can handle myself. I'm safe inside, am I not?" Wilbur averted his eyes, watching the guests, slightly ashamed by Lenore's display.

"I know you are-"

"Then why?" She interrupted him, this time with large gestures. She covered her eyes with the back of her hand, sighing loudly. "How do you expect us to get along, if you don't trust me, Sir Wilbur?" Lenore inquired theatrically. "_How_?"

She could see the others' befuddled and amused faces out of the corner of the eye, although her gaze was fixated on Wilbur's face, which was slightly red. He offered her a small, tremulous smile, before he nodded and, to Lenore, that was enough.

She turned and went out in small, hurried steps, without even looking back.

…

An entire palette of warm colors painted the sky, while dusk was throwing a dark veil over it. Her feet were throbbing from so much walking on the agglomerated, dusty streets of Nevermore, ignoring every person that passed near her. She couldn't believe it was the first time when she truly wanted to be home. On top of it, she was sure her parents, along with an ashamed Howard Wilbur, were looking for her in despair out there, somewhere in the town.

She would be in so much trouble if they found her, especially because she ran away from Wilbur's house. And she still hadn't found Ragamuffin, in spite of all her attempts to sneak into every creepy place she knew in that town. She went on dark, empty alleys, near abandoned houses, even to the cemetery. Nothing. He was nowhere.

Sometimes she thought if this was just a false panic created by foolish, amateur killers who committed murders only for fun. It was more plausible than an immortal vampire, anyway. Lenore meditated upon this subject so much that she convinced herself this was the actual truth. There was no vampire. It was a big, magnificent invention.

Plus, she couldn't even return home because she didn't have knowledge of what was her position right then. Even though she was born there, Lenore never got to know that town completely, due to her parents' overprotectiveness, which reduced her freedom and imposed her rules, forbidding her to be like other children.

That meant she was lost in her own town.

Her feet almost gave up and she would have collapsed if she didn't sit quickly on the first steps that appeared in her sight. Her white dress was already dirty and covered in various stains and dust, while her hair was even messier than usually, standing out in all directions, like a chicken's feathers. She imagined for a moment what would be like if she was an actual chicken and she smiled serenely at the idea. Her life would have been so much better.

Across the narrow street, on a brick wall, the vampire's eyes gazed at her. A small shiver trailed down her spine as Ragamuffin's dark, intense stare passed right through her and she had the impression for a moment that he was actually there. Of course, it was just an illusion, since it was just a picture, but she couldn't shake off that cold feeling. Now she partially understood why even the most powerful men were afraid of him. If just his portrait induced terror in humans' minds, she couldn't imagine what he would be like in reality. Lenore suddenly realized that her behavior had been witless and absurd that day.

How could she even think about finding him? She would have certainly been killed, if she accidentally bumped into him, and in a horrifying, monstrous manner nonetheless.

She would have been eaten alive, damn it.

Lenore guessed she was really bored with her life if she actually wanted to meet an insanely dangerous person like that. Even though he was frightening her, the wanting was still there, present in the corner of her mind. Various images were dancing in front of her eyes again, images in which she found Ragamuffin and they were getting along like two best friends, images in which Ragamuffin would actually change in good if he met her, images in which she had the power of making Ragamuffin a harmless person. Lenore didn't know for sure why she wanted so much to be his friend, although she had a vague supposition.

She was tired of everyone treating her like she was different in a bad way. She was tired of remarking the fact that no one had anything in common with her, that she couldn't possibly get along with anyone. Because she was weird, according to them. Because she wasn't normal and that was the main reason they avoided her all the time.

Lenore didn't know what normal meant to them, but, to her, Ragamuffin seemed closer to normal than those people. Or closer to a potential friend, at least. She was desperately looking for one and he seemed the only option left. If no one wanted to be her friend, then she would have to resume to drastic measures.

"Miss?" Lenore raised her head to see a plain looking, elderly woman, standing in front of her. She appeared to be tensioned. "I believe you should go home, miss." The woman spoke uneasily. "It's already dark and everyone has gone inside." She explained pointing with her hand at the already empty streets. One or two citizens could be seen far away, but they seemed to be heading towards their own homes, as well.

Lenore widened her eyes as she sensed panic creeping up on her.

"W-what about you?" She mumbled.

The woman lifted her eyes meaningfully for a moment, before she rested her gaze on Lenore again.

"You're standing on the steps of my house, miss." She said blankly. Lenore turned brusquely to see a medium sized, old house, with two small, dirty windows. The entire house looked poorly kept and she wondered if it rained inside during bad weather. Lenore nodded slowly and stood up reluctantly, permitting the old woman to pass near her and climb the stairs. She silently watched her as she fondled with the door knob, appearing to have some difficulties in opening it, but she did it after one or two minutes. Right in the moment the woman was stepping inside, Lenore decided it was better if she asked.

"Can you tell me what part of Nevermore is this neighborhood?"

The old woman remained petrified. She avoided Lenore's face for a few moments, looking quite shocked by her question. Then she gulped loudly, before her scared eyes fell on her.

"T-the l-last one." Her voice trembled, which startled Lenore to an extent. "Y-you're at the e-edge of the t-town, near the f-forest, miss." They stared in silence at each other; terrified, experienced eyes into young, resigned ones.

"May God be with you." The woman spoke, before she went out of her sight and closed the door behind her, locking it on the inside, leaving Lenore in the middle of the silent, dark street. The wind started to hum slowly, lifting some burnt leaves into the dry, autumnal air. Now she was completely alone and she was starting to believe that was going to be her end. Ironically, it didn't panic her the way she thought it would. In fact, she began walking calmly, silently watching the dark houses on both sides of the road and how the street lights were enveloping them into a diffuse, warm color. Various sounds could be heard from the garbage that was laying into the large trashcans, but Lenore consoled herself with the fact that those noises could only come from abandoned animals. And she was right.

To her joy, an auburn, brownish cat made its appearance from beneath some ruined steps and cut her way, running past Lenore and heading towards the end of the street. She rapidly followed the cat and whistled a few times to attract its attention, although it was useless, because the animal didn't give a sign that it noticed Lenore. She didn't give up and continued to walk on the cat's steps, trying not to lose it from her sight. Lenore couldn't recall when she last spent her time in the company of a cute kitty and she was really glad that she finally found one after so much time. After running for a while and passing near other empty streets, Lenore finally cornered the auburn cat and caught it in her arms, holding it tightly. She snuggled and petted it, calming down to an extent and forgetting about the strange, creepy place in which she found herself at that moment. She apparently ended up in an alleyway, which was probably the main reason why she succeeded in cornering the cat.

"Be good and stay here, kitty, alright?" Lenore whispered, checking her surroundings and searching for a place to hide during the night. Two large trashcans were prompted at the edge of the wall and she thought about getting behind them. She crawled on her knees, while holding closely the cat that was trying to escape from her grasp, and sat behind them, intending to be as quiet as possible. Soon enough, sleep was pressing on her eyelids like a heavy rock and she was aware that she was beginning to doze off.

Her dream didn't last much. Like a hit at the back of her head, the sound of screams and footsteps running on the main street suddenly woke her up. Some cats from other trashcans hissed, which made the kitty from her lap jump like burnt and bolt faster than a lightning. Lenore's first impulse was to run and shout after the cat, but, fortunately, she covered her own mouth with her hand, muffling the words that were about to escape. She stuck to the wall in panic and remained motionless, her breath almost gone. The screams and the footsteps were heard again, closer to the alleyway in which Lenore was hidden this time, which only meant one thing.

They were coming on that part of the street.

A cold breeze of wind engulfed her and she didn't understand if it really was cold or it was just the horror that seeped through her pores at those sounds. The heavy breath of someone who was running passed near the trashcans and the footsteps that belonged to the same person carried on their way, although they stopped ten or fifteen feet later, as the sound of breaking and hitting the pavement was heard.

Lenore realized the woman who was running- she knew for sure it was a woman since the earlier feminine screams could only come from her- stumbled and fell. The trashcans blocked Lenore's view, so she decided to move a few inches to throw a peek at what was going on.

It was a young girl, probably in her twenties, just as Lenore predicted. She couldn't see her face well, although she noticed that the girl was crying, while she was lying hopelessly on the edge of the street. Her elegant dress was slightly lifted to reveal a wounded ankle that was badly bleeding.

"P-please…" The girl cried, through hiccups, crawling desperately on the dirty pavement. "D-don't do it."

Lenore was confused. She tried to look closely at the scene, but she couldn't see anyone apart from the girl. Maybe she was insane, but Lenore profusely doubted it.

Another pair of footsteps came right behind the girl and into Lenore's vision and now she was definitely able to see _him_.

Lenore's jaw opened halfway as the vampire walked behind the fallen girl and stopped right at her feet. The first thing that came to Lenore's mind was that the people who described him did a good job. He, of course, was really pale and had black, messy hair. She couldn't clearly see his face in the dark, but she vaguely noticed that he was brutally smirking at the girl. He also was really tall. If she thought her father was tall, then she was wrong. Ragamuffin was at least half of head taller than him.

"I'm sorry this has to happen, lady, but sacrifices have to be made, alright?" He spoke through his teeth with a strange accent, not sounding sorry at all. It was the other way actually, because he sounded extremely pleased by the girl's cries. His soon-to-be victim gave a sharp shriek of terror when he approached her lying form and bent over her, baring his fangs. She violently struggled even though it seemed her efforts were of no use, because he wasn't deranged by her movement at all. He just continued hovering above her, intently analyzing her body.

"I wonder where should I start from." He calmly spoke as the girl furiously fought in his strong clutch, mumbling pleads under her breath like a lunatic. He apparently liked to torture and terrorize his victims before he killed them, a dawning that shook Lenore's entire being. She didn't know if she was supposed to act in this matter and interfere. What she could do? He would just kill them both.

She sneaked her hand beneath her dress and pulled out the cross that was dangling around her neck. Her mother said it might work, but the man from that day's meeting said Ragamuffin was different from the other vampires.

The girl screamed once again, making Lenore jump in alarm.

Well, it wasn't like she valued her own life that much, so it was worth a try.

She noisily pushed away one of the trashcans, exposing herself and standing up on her shaking legs. This caught by guard both the vampire and the girl, who ceased her cries and widened her pleading eyes at Lenore in silent help. Lenore could see on her exhausted face that she considered unlikely the possibility of an even younger girl, like Lenore, saving her. Ragamuffin, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes menacingly and scrunched his features up in distrust. To Lenore's amazement, he looked like he was the same age as the girl on the pavement, although she was very well informed that he was at least three hundred years old.

"What's this?" He growled, fiercely revealing his fangs at Lenore who stopped and remained like a still statue in front of them. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was almost going to break her ribcage and jump out.

"Mr. Ragamuffin, I think you should stop right now." Lenore said, unsurely pulling her lips into a tight line. She intertwined her fingers and fidgeted nervously, waiting for his reply. Ragamuffin stood deadpan and watched her like she was out of her mind, before he shook his head in an expression of contempt.

"Don't try to be funny, child." He bluntly stated, sounding slightly annoyed. "Leave, before I kill you, too." He turned to his victim, who looked half passed out and really confused by everything, gesture that angered Lenore. She should have run out of there when she still had the chance, especially since he apparently had no intention in attacking her for the moment, but that's what peeved her the most. And the appellative annoyed her even more.

"I'm nineteen years old, not a child!" She furiously pulled out the cross and lifted it so that he could see it. "And I also have a cross and I'm not afraid to use it, so back away!" Lenore made a few steps forward, holding out the cross in front of Ragamuffin, who enlarged his dark eyes in astonishment. The other girl mirrored Ragamuffin's expression, although she also seemed to be confused at the same time, probably because she hadn't heard of the method Lenore was using to scare the vampire away.

Everything appeared to go in slow motion as Ragamuffin stood up and concentrated his full attention on her. He wasn't giving away any emotion, while he walked towards Lenore, seemingly forgetting about his meal, and Lenore continued to stay in the same place with the cross raised, decided and unyielding. When he got closer than a few inches, he stared intently at the cross she was tremulously holding, then at her, still apathetic, to Lenore's growing demise.

With just two fingers, he pulled the cross out from Lenore's grasp and threw it away in the garbage.

Lenore stood dumbfounded and watched the scene, letting her arms fall limp down her sides.

"You're quite bold, aren't you?" He told her flatly. "No one had the courage or the bad luck to find me on their own and confront me with religious mockery like that." His gaze was so piercing that Lenore felt her legs slacken. "I will apparently have a rich meal in this night." He inched his face closer and Lenore backed away faster than a scared animal.

"No." Lenore murmured petrified. "No, you won't." Her whispery words were her last as she suddenly turned, intending to dart and run; she didn't even manage in making one move that would get her away from that place, because his cold hand grabbed her wrist and kept her on the spot before she even had the chance to blink.

She inhaled sharply and gritted her teeth tensioned and horrified as they remained frozen and stared at each other in silence. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Lenore. She almost thought she was going to choke from fervor and anticipation, while Ragamuffin wasn't actually doing anything, apart from looking at her emotionless. He somehow seemed to study her, especially her face, which was contorted in fright and curiosity. Curiosity partly about what he was about to do and partly about him, as a being.

To her surprise, he abruptly released her wrist. Lenore hurriedly reeled backwards and widened her eyes taken aback by the gesture, but he turned around and started heading towards the fallen girl, who didn't appear to observe their earlier exchange, probably due to her inner struggle. Absurdly, Lenore didn't move as she continued watching how he slowly walked and stopped above the girl.

"You better start running now." He spoke and Lenore didn't even need more.

Her legs automatically moved in the very first direction she could find safe. Her decision hadn't been well thought, since, after a few minutes in which she didn't stop, she found herself at the edge of the town, near the stretched fields and the forest. Lenore wondered what happened to the girl and she only hoped that she was alright. She quickly disregarded the idea, regretful. He was probably consuming the girl right then. She was most surely gone from that life.

Everything she did was in vain. The cross her mother gave her was lost, she couldn't save the girl, she had been the subject of ridicule and most importantly…

She was horrifyingly going to be murdered by a vicious, cold blooded vampire. She was going to die.


	3. Dire turmoil

Disclaimer: Lenore and Ragamuffin are definitely not mine.

Warning: Some T/M rated scenes. Lenore will be somewhat OOC, since she's older.

…

She could hear her own, wild breathing as she ran down the dirt track, onto the road, into the field. Fortunately, the sky was enlightened by the web of stars and the moon was full bellied and pregnant with light in that night, so her vision wasn't obscured. By the time she reached the last house, she had noticed that the crops which spread on the field were standing tall in front of her and represented a significant barrier.

But then she realized that those could be a barrier to anyone, even a vampire.

She hoped they were.

Lenore peered agitated behind her and stood like that for a few moments, listening intently to the smallest noise that would suggest he was coming after her. She could almost hear her blood flowing rapidly through her entire body, her pulse banging loudly into her ears. A heavy, tense stillness surrounded her as she stared at the path she had run onto, the earth path that led to the core of the town and was covered in dark shadows, giving her the impression that various, unknown beings lurked behind them.

She turned her head and looked in front of her, at the wall formed of enormous, rusty crops which appeared just as uninviting as the place where she came from. She couldn't possibly hide through those, since she could get deeply lost- even more than she was right then- and there was no way someone would find her there in the course of a few hours, not even days, if she thought better.

She had no escape and no choice but to face him.

Her nails almost pierced the skin of her palm and her knuckles became so white, she believed for a second she lost all her blood. Ironically, it would be a great convenience to her at the time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the hedgerow at the edge of the last house's garden and she turned her head brusquely in alarm. Maybe she had the possibility to knock at one of those houses and ask for someone's help, but she realized that no one would actually open the door in the middle of the night, especially during the terror that had fallen upon the town.

Frozen with fear, she stared hard at the bush that had rustled, and jumped when it moved again. Suddenly, two twin orbs of glimmering yellow-gold appeared in the shadows beside the bush. It was a moment before Lenore realized they were eyes.

Spurred into action by fear, she didn't care about the fact that she could get deeply lost so she just turned, ready to run towards the forest of crops. She made a few steps before she perceived a soft thud behind her as the creature leapt from the cover of the bush and took off after her.

Or maybe she had just imagined it, because, after a second or two, the heavy silence of the night covered her ears again, signaling that those sounds weren't actually the source of a real danger. And she had been right.

A soft mewling hit her hearing and she stopped in her tracks and listened. Lenore carefully turned around only to see the same auburn cat she had caught earlier and a smile made its way on her face at the sight of it. She exhaled loudly and put her own palm on her chest, feeling her wild heartbeats as she tried to compose herself.

"Oh, kitty, you scared me."

Lenore accidentally took a step backwards and her body collided with what appeared to be a solid, immovable, _much_ _bigger_ object- that definitely hadn't been there moments ago- and she enlarged her eyes as she remained stuck to the spot, looking straight ahead. She swallowed heavily, feeling small drops streaming down her forehead and she knew she had to turn her head sooner or later, but she was so horrified she couldn't even make the smallest move.

The object wasn't actually an object.

It was…_him_.

She spun around fast, her stormy blue eyes drowning in fear as they met dark, vile ones. Her stomach simultaneously scrunched up and settled in an uncomfortable lump when she remarked his predatory look, before she instinctively raised her hands in front of her into self defense. She shouldn't have done it in the first place, because she was sure every gesture was irremediably useless. Still, that didn't determine her to give up. She had to say something, anything to distract his attention.

Words escaped her mouth before her thoughts even had the chance to grasp them.

"You don't want to do this." She suddenly said. There was a heavy stillness in the air as they gaped at each other. Ragamuffin raised an eyebrow and Lenore realized that he wasn't taking her seriously.

"Really? And why wouldn't I?"

Lenore swallowed heavily and bit her trembling lip.

"I don't taste good." She spoke, fidgety. The vampire blinked at her, probably taken aback by her odd, silly excuse. His incredulous stare bore into her, measuring her up.

"I really do have a bad taste." Lenore anxiously repeated, a small hope growing at the back of her mind. She observed disbelief and bewilderment slowly replacing his feral expression and she somewhat became excited about her ability to capture his attention.

"This one time, I was really curious about my taste, so I bit myself." She nodded in confirmation, like it was something to be proud of. She stopped for a moment and frowned at what she had just said, feeling slightly ridiculous at her sudden randomness.

It was like she couldn't stop herself. Turmoil welled up in her chest and she had the need to carry on her rant when she realized that he was actually listening to her ludicrous phrases.

Well, he was staring at her as if she was a lunatic, but he was listening.

Her fear was slowly fading away, turning into precaution. She just needed to keep him distracted.

"It was a really unpleasant taste. It sort of resembled that odd root I ate some while ago." She scrunched her features up.

"You're weird." He said flatly, his mouth curled into slight disgust at her words. He looked at her for a brief moment, apparently musing whether he should attack her or not. Lenore snapped her mouth shut and backed away slowly, nervously closing one of her dress's folds into her hand.

"In fact, you're one of the weirdest persons I've met." He appeared to be somewhat annoyed by her behavior, although slightly captivated at the same time. He got closer and she backed away, even though he closed the gap by walking forward again.

"Although you still look quite appealing."

There was a blur, literally, as he approached so fast that she couldn't see when he closed the space between them. All she felt was his hand touching the back of her neck and that was when her survival instinct kicked in, because she twisted her entire body and slipped through his fingers right at the last moment.

She leapt into the wild crops that scratched her skin and clothes as she mingled scared through them. Her arms pushed the golden, dry wheat with all her strength, trying to create a way through it as her breath became quicker and her heart rate fastened, at the slight feeling of suffocation.

After a few minutes, she skidded to a halt, before she landed into a small patch of leaves and dirt, hidden between the tall plants. There was a complete silence, except for an owl that made creepy sounds, far away in the forest. Her breath was too loud, so she put her hand over her mouth, trying to remain as still as possible. Her entire body ached from the fall and from all the effort.

She definitely was naïve and had no self-preservation because no one in their right mind would actually try to make conversation with a vampire. Curling into a ball, Lenore remained unmoving, while her thoughts went haywire at every little whir that came from the darkness that surrounded her. Something was telling her that it was almost impossible for someone to find her through that wilderness, but that someone would be a normal human being.

And Ragamuffin was definitely not a normal human being.

She looked up at the starry, dark-blue sky. Surprisingly enough, it was calming her down even in the most terrifying situations; that was why she always loved to look at it. The feeling soothed her.

It always happened. She never thought about the consequences of her actions hence she always ended up in tangled situations, from which someone had to help her get out. Her parents helped her most of the time, even though they punished her after that for being disobedient and forbade her from many activities, including leaving the mansion.

She always had absurd ideas and whims that she acted on. Her mother constantly told her that her immaturity, excessive curiosity and tendencies to daydream all the time would eventually get her into endless trouble.

Lenore wanted to kick herself for being so dimwitted and thoughtless and for even having the idea of going into the town to look for a murderer. That convinced her there was definitely something wrong with her.

A hand burst out from the density of crops and grabbed her ankle, making Lenore scream in shock. She madly shook her leg as she tried to escape from the tight grasp, but the lock was so strong that it hurt and bruised her skin at every small move she made.

"Let me go!" She yelled in anger and fear.

The hand was followed by an arm, then foul eyes that gave her the impression they had a red, mad shine in them, before her gaze read his captivated, hungry expression. Terror and desperation grew inside her and she flailed her legs as she turned on her back, making great efforts to hit him, but his hold was so strong that her leg was practically paralyzed. Her eyes flicked everywhere, searching for an escape, while the vampire was smoothly leaning over her.

"You can't escape, so stop struggling already." He bared his fangs as he advanced on her and put his hand on one of her wrists, pinning her to the ground. Lenore's mouth curled in itself as she gritted her teeth. She stood petrified, eyes wide and scared, and watched how he opened his mouth, prepared to bite her. She couldn't stand it anymore and turned her head to the side.

That was it. She stretched her free arm faster than she thought she was capable of and dug her fingers into the dirt, grabbing some with all the little strength that she was left with, before she threw it into his eyes.

He furiously hissed as he abruptly backed away and covered his eyes with his hand. Lenore remained dumbfounded as she stared at his retreating form.

She didn't think it would actually work, but a rush of joyfulness passed through her, before she stood up on her trembling legs and threw another cloud of dust into his face with her foot.

"Take that, you bastard!" She threw one last look at his hunching figure, before she swiveled on her feet and turned around, running through the mass of plants. She didn't know how much she would keep on running, because her legs were throbbing. She feared that she would eventually collapse from exhaustion.

It didn't take long before the wheat crops separated to reveal an old, massive wood door that belonged to a house, apparently built in the middle of the field.

Lenore soon realized that it was actually an empty barn so she forcefully pushed the door, which opened with a loud screech. She carefully walked into the thick dark, closing it after her, and stared at the vaguely illuminated, dusty wood floor and walls.

There weren't animals in there to her relief- she didn't want any animals to be killed by a vampire-, but there were large amounts of hay scattered through the entire place. She exhaled and inhaled heavily as she leaned on a bump of hay, resting on it and wiping her messy face.

It was an eerie stillness as she stood there and stared tensely at the barn's shadowed door, at the white rays of dim light that fell through its cracks. She knew he would find her.

Lenore clenched her fist in frustration. She wasn't going to give up, even though she would end up dead, sooner or later.

The rays suddenly disappeared as a shadow blocked them and she widened her eyes when she realized he was on the other side of the door. She carefully slipped between two large piles of hay and hid behind one of them, before her body froze at the sound of the door being opened.

Her chest almost exploded when she heard his steps making contact with the old floor. She couldn't remain there because she was sure he was completely aware of her hiding place, so she silently advanced through the piles, distancing herself from the barn's entrance. The place was quite large since she didn't even mange to see the back of it. All she could see was the great amount of hay which surrounded her from all sides.

Lenore looked up to notice a wooden platform situated three or four feet above her and the end of a ladder that led to it. She strode forward until she found the bottom of the stairs and climbed on them, reaching the platform. Her mind instinctively guided her body to stay close to the ground in an attempt to shield herself from his view, since he would have definitely noticed her if she stood up.

It was almost pitch black. Her eyes squinted to see the front of the room, peering over the hay to follow the vampire's form there, near the main door. He was standing still, in silence, and that made her stomach turn and twist in restlessness because he wasn't making any effort to search for her. That meant that he was either going to give up or he just knew where she was.

And Lenore had the terrible certitude it was latest.

"Stop with this stupid game already." His voice was low, rough and, to Lenore, it sounded like he was infuriated.

Even through the thick dark, she was able to see him raise and turn his head towards the place where she was hidden- or where Lenore only believed she was hidden- and look exactly at her.

She felt her breath stop for a few moments as every inch of her limbs became tremulous. Her stomach felt like it got stuck to the front of her back and she almost thought she was going to throw up due to the fear and the anxiety that overcame her.

She suddenly had the impression that there wasn't any air there, as if invisible walls closed in around her from all directions. She turned a little and looked around her, looking for a window, something that would mean her last chance at escaping. She didn't want to give up so soon. Unfortunately, all she could see was the black of the barn's wooden walls.

Her body started trembling and her limbs moved around uncontrollably as she couldn't control her fear.

Her leg suddenly hit something hard and the sound of an object rolling around on the floor made her perk up, turn and stare at it. Lenore wasn't really sure, but she perceived the outlines of what appeared to be a gas lamp. A sudden anger boiled inside her.

That was the last thing she needed right then. Something with which she could light the place so that the vampire would see her better.

The anger ignited an instinct to hit the lamp. She almost lifted her leg to break it, until she stopped right at the last moment as an idea brusquely hit her like a rock in the head. Excitement rolled her mind on all sides, before she stood on her knees and desperately searched for a light match, through the dark. There had to be one, since there was a lamp, too.

She grabbed the gas lamp with one hand as she blindly fumbled through the rug of hay with the other one, not even caring if the vampire even heard her. Lenore was aware that she was making a lot of noise and that determined her to search for the match faster, in despair and terror.

As her hope was beginning to fade away, her fingers encircled a small, carton box and she almost escaped a yell in thrill. Lenore barely managed to open the box as another fear caught up, something that told her there might not be any sticks left, although she exhaled in relief when her skin made contact with two or three.

After a few, shaky tries, the powerful, reddish-gold flame threw its light over her dirty, frightened face, before she introduced it into a small opening, on one side of the lamp. The flame became three times bigger, enveloping the surroundings into a dim, yellowish color.

She then realized that it was useless for her to hide anymore since the light immediately gave away her position.

Lenore inhaled deeply, trying to calm her shivers and her strong fear. She swallowed heavily, before she weakly lifted herself on her legs, holding the enlightened lamp in her right hand. She got closer to the edge of the platform, looking down at the vampire who glanced up at her, a little taken aback by her straightforward apparition.

His surprise was replaced by an intense aggravation as his features roughened, revealing his aversion to her. She knew she had probably brought him to the end of his patience.

"It's better if you just give up. I've had it with this chase and you're just worsening things for yourself. You're nothing but a nuisance." He spoke lowly, almost threateningly.

Lenore furrowed her brow, sensing a fury growing inside, spreading its roots in her entire body. It was diminishing her uncontrollable fear, giving her confidence.

And the anger wasn't directed at the fact that he wanted to eat her. And neither at the contempt that he displayed towards her.

The anger was directed again at the way he called her.

"My name is Lenore." She spoke, trying with all her might to keep her calm. "If you're going to kill me, at least learn my name." She carried on. "Although I know it has no importance because we're all the same to you. We're all food."

Ragamuffin didn't sketch an emotion, apart from the constant annoyance present on his features, even though she could see a small, unknown flicker in his dark eyes, a flicker that passed as soon as it appeared. Or maybe that had been just her imagination induced by her neverending, desperate hope.

In fact, she noticed that his frown became even more prominent on his young, shadowed face.

"You're right." He retorted back. He didn't sound as infuriated as before, but there was a restrained ridicule in his tone, probably derived from the fact that he was still annoyed with her. "Your name is of no use to me." Her fingers clenched the lamp's metal edge tighter. "But I'll use it since it's one of your last wishes." He stopped for a moment. "_Lenore_."

He spoke through gritted teeth. She heard mock and annoyance in the way he pronounced it and she could feel a heavy, unseeing pressure on her chest. A pressure that she recognized as disappointment.

Lenore realized that he wasn't what she had initially expected him to be. Even though he had attacked her, a minor, naive part of her mind still trusted that he might have something good in him.

After his last words, she convinced herself that she truly had been wrong. That those people were actually right.

She couldn't believe that she went to look for him, imagining that ridiculous, impossible friendship. That she had been so foolish, that it was her entire fault she was going to die.

She couldn't accept that she was going to die at the hands of someone like that. At the hands of someone who had no remorse, who didn't care about anything, except his own greed and thirst.

"You have no redemption." She muttered. Surprise passed under her skin when she saw that strange flicker lighten his eyes for the second time. It was out of his place on his threatening, feral traits. Then her naivety made her say something out of place, something that she shouldn't have. But it was already too late.

"I can't believe I've actually considered the possibility of being your friend."

He widened his eyes as an unusual shock glazed over his eyes along with the earlier spark that Lenore couldn't describe.

That was when she realized it was actually an emotion. Not one of those that made him look evil, like the anger, the annoyance or the derisiveness constantly present on his face. It was something different.

"What?" He stared at her, apparently at a loss of words.

"It's my fault." Lenore continued. "It's my fault I'm going to die tonight." She spoke more to herself than to him, as if she reprimanded herself for her fatal, thoughtless actions.

Ragamuffin still stared at her, frozen and tensed, a whirl of different, conflicting emotions enveloping his features. They remained quiet for a few moments.

Then he suddenly frowned.

"That's absurd even for a weird brat like you." He tensely spoke. His tone was empty and stoic this time, void of the annoyance she had perceived earlier.

Lenore stretched her arm and raised the gas lamp in front of her, the wrath flaring inside her again.

"Maybe. " She replied, decided and fervid. "But at least I'm not going to die murdered by you. "

He enlarged his eyes and stepped back when he found out what she had in mind. The hay. Everywhere. Hay. And the fire that burned inside the lamp, a harmless, small, golden flame.

"And you're not going to continue your stupid, immortal life either."

Her palm spread open as the lamp from her hand fell four feet in the air until it reached the bottom floor, the one where the vampire was standing petrified, and broke into thousands pieces of glass. Flames burst everywhere, on all sides, on the walls, on the hay, turning everything into a mass of destructive, burning, infernal nightmare.

Lenore jumped backwards and fell on a patch of dry hay, as the sharp teeth of the fire dashed at her, trying to eat her whole being. She crawled on the floor, hoping that she would find the trap door with the ladder through which she got there, but the fire soon surrounded her on all sides. Terror suffocated her along with the deathly smoke that replaced the entire air.

She backed away in a corner and waited for the horrific, monstrous fire to swallow her. In that moment, she didn't know if she chose the best alternative. She didn't know what would be better. To burn alive or to be eaten alive by a savage vampire.

Both options were hellish and horrifying, although she didn't want to regret her decision. She didn't want to die in remorse and she definitely didn't want to give him the satisfaction of having her as a victim.

Her chest went up and down, trying to capture the last signs of air, as her mouth involuntarily opened, helping it. She was aware it was useless. Her head started spinning at the lack of air, before she began choking and coughing desperately. Everything she could see was fire. Fire at her feet, fire that was soon going to reach her and light her like a candle. If she was going to burn alive, she at least wanted to fall in unconsciousness before she died. The pain would be too unbearable.

She was grateful for whoever watched over her, because her eyelids soon began falling as her mind started to shut itself off, separating her from the living world.

The last thing she saw was the furious mouth of fire.

Then everything went black.

…

There were voices around her. Three, four…she couldn't perceive their number. It was like she was trapped at the end of a tunnel and she had to reach the other side to hear them better. Vague rays of light interrupted the endless darkness that covered her vision and she soon realized that her eyelids were half open.

The rays turned into the outside daylight that fell through her lashes. The voices became clearer and clearer until she managed to comprehend the words.

"…she was there, right in front of my house. " It was a male voice that she couldn't recognize. "She was lying on the pavement, unconscious. I don't know how she got there, but it's a miracle she hasn't been caught in the fire." He carried on. "It has spread on a great part of the field."

She then barely managed to open her eyes completely to see the persons that were standing around her.

First, she was in her bedroom, in her own bed. Second, she saw her parents' worried faces, her supposed, annoying fiancé, the maid and two men that she didn't know.

Third, she knew she was in big trouble. Which almost made her want to disappear through the white sheets and suffocate right there, so that they wouldn't see her anymore.

She tried to move a little, but her gesture was suddenly stopped by a sharp pain in her right leg, which wiped away every little intention to sketch another movement. To her frustration, she whimpered before she could retain herself.

All the heads turned in her direction, surprise covering their traits. Her mother gave a small cry, before she rapidly sat on the edge of her bed and smothered her with a hug.

"Oh, Lenore, you scared me to death!" She cried into her shoulder and Lenore winced at the touch, since her body felt like it was an enormous bruise. Every small inch of it hurt. And the worst part was the leg. One of those two unknown men gently grasped her mother's shoulder, slightly pulling her away.

"She's vulnerable now, so it's better if you just let her recover, Mrs. Lynchfast." He spoke in a serious tone. He was probably the doctor. Lenore sighed in relief when her mother backed away with tears in her eyes and watched her, filled with concern. Lenore felt a little guilty at her lack of empathy, but she couldn't stand all those emotional scenes. She just waited for her parents to announce her punishment, so that they could get over it already.

"What happened?" She mumbled, still half unconscious. Her head felt like it was going to explode in any minute.

A deep silence fell over them as they waited for someone to answer. After some unbearable seconds, the other stranger stepped forward and shook his head, sighing in dejection.

"We thought you were caught in the fire, miss. There was an enormous one, last night." He appeared to be really poor and somewhat dirty. Lenore felt a wrench in her stomach when she remembered that she had actually started the fire. "The town's barn was burned to the ground, along with some areas around it. Fortunately, you just passed out due to the smoke, right in front of my house. If you had gone farther, in the field, then we wouldn't have found you."

She suddenly tensed as her eyes widened. That wasn't possible. She knew she was on the barn's second floor when she fainted, not in front of some stranger's house, and she was sure the fire almost reached her in the moment she lost her consciousness. In no way, anyone could have saved her from there, unless he had supernatural powers or something like…

Her train of thought froze as her breath was caught in her throat at the shock that hit her.

He saved her.

Lenore was aware that her face probably turned a sickly white, because the people around her started asking her questions, even though she couldn't hear them. All that haunted her right then was that idea.

The idea of Ragamuffin saving her.

That meant he didn't die either. Why did he do it? Why did he save her? Was it because she told him she wanted to be his friend?

No, he wouldn't be convinced by such childish, ridiculous excuses. Then maybe he spared her so that he could kill her with his own hands. So that he would get revenge on her because she had tried to destroy him.

Lenore shivered as terror began creeping up on her again. She furrowed her brow. If those were his motives- and Lenore was almost sure they were- , then she was cursed. It was a nightmarish, endless curse.

But if he wanted to kill her himself, why didn't he do it when he got her out of the fire? Even more, why did he leave her in front of a house, so that someone would find her?

Maybe he didn't want to kill her while she was unconscious. She had to be awake so that he could torture her for what she had done to him. Or for what she had tried to do.

Lenore let herself sink into the white mattress, dizziness engulfing her head. Her stomach felt like it was going to turn upside down, even though she knew she hadn't eaten at all in the last two days. Someone's warm hand clenched her own and she tiredly looked up to see her mother's concern.

"You're punished."

They all turned their heads towards her father, who, as always, wasn't giving away any emotion. Although Lenore knew him too well, so she noticed the vague glint of worry passing over his dark eyes. That was his usual method to show his care for her. Punishment.

"You're not aloud to get out of this house for ten days. "

She couldn't say she hadn't expected that after all.

He then turned, followed by the other two men who politely inclined their heads towards her and her mother, and left the room without even looking back.

There was shuffling and movement inside the room for a moment, before someone cleared his voice and that was when Lenore realized Wilbur was trying to catch her attention. She remained deadpan as he offered her his typical wide, irritating smile, then he bowed a little, which almost made her twist her features into a disgusted grimace.

"I have a deep regret for what happened yesterday, my dear Lenore." He started, almost dramatically. She heard her mother sigh near her and Lenore barely refrained from throwing up. "I hope things will work better for us in the future."

He took her hand and kissed it and her mother's as well, before he made another bow and went out of the room. Lenore hurriedly wiped the back of her hand on the sheets. She saw her mother frown at the gesture, even though she didn't say anything regarding it, to Lenore's gratefulness.

The hold of Evelyn's hand tightened lovingly and Lenore looked up to see small tears gathered in the corners of her mother's eyes.

A pang of guilt traveled her body as she turned her gaze away and looked at the wall. She was aware that she worried them all, particularly her mother, especially since there had been the fire in the town, as well.

"I'm sorry, mo-"

"Don't you ever do that again." She interrupted her, before Lenore could finish her apology. Her voice was rougher and colder than earlier. "I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if you had been caught in the fire. Even worse, what would have happened if the vampire had found you." She covered her mouth with her palm, closing her eyes, apparently trying to regain her calm.

Ironically, memories of both of those events passed before Lenore's eyes for a moment, which almost made her snort in bitterness. She didn't do it because she didn't want to cause suspicion.

"Thank goodness the cross offered you good luck." Evelyn murmured softly. Lenore tensed and clenched her fists in anticipation, hoping with all her might that her mother wouldn't ask for the cross.

She didn't. She exhaled in relief and caressed her hair, before she pressed a small kiss on her forehead, and Lenore felt as if a heavy rock was lifted off from her chest. Her mother stood up and threw her one last apprehensive look, before she turned to the maid and silently motioned her to take care of Lenore.

"Remember, be very attentive with her broken leg. She is not supposed to move it too much in the next few days." Her mother instructed as she opened the door. Then she closed it with a soft thud.

Lenore widened her eyes. So that was why her leg was hurting so bad. She huffed and took a breath in, distress flowing through her mind, reminding her again of her recent discovery regarding the vampire.

Paranoia gave her negative thoughts, making her believe that he maybe broke her leg intentionally, just so that he could come and kill her easier in that state. She shook her head. No, she must have broken her leg when she fell on the barn's floor, when she backed away from the fire.

In the next few days, she didn't really have a choice but to let herself in the maid's care, who just fulfilled her duties, unaware of Lenore's dark, terrifying thoughts.

She might have blown her cover once or twice when she had nightmares and talked loudly in her sleep, because the maid suddenly told her the next day that she understood her excessive fear of Ragamuffin.

Lenore must have mentioned his name in her dreams, that was why she ordered the maid to stop supervising her at night, especially when her leg began to recover.

Even though that wasn't the worst part.

After the fifth day since the incident, Lenore realized that she might lose her minds in her maddening wait. Her wait for him to make his appearance and murder her already. She was aware that it was only a matter of time before that happened.

She became silent and brooding, talking only when someone addressed to her, which probably woke up several persons' suspicions, including the maid and her parents. She probably looked ill and paler than ever as she stood locked in her bedroom and stared out the window, like in a daze, her chin prompted in her palm, her eyes empty and hollow.

That sickening wait for her death was even more terrifying than a vampire chasing after her on the dark streets of Nevermore.

Then she started seeing him everywhere. When she looked out the window, at the people that were constantly coming to her home to visit her parents.

She saw him disguised in those men and she backed away like a cornered, hunted animal and hid in the corner of her room, only to realize later that it had been just another visitor.

Once, she really lost her sense. It was one night when she saw a dark figure, in the street lamps' fade light, heading towards the mansion.

Lenore slammed her bedroom door like a storm and ran down the main stairs faster than ever as she yelled at the servant who was about to open the main door to welcome him.

"Stop it!" She screamed breathless and horrified just when the servant clutched the door's knob. She pushed him aside and prompted herself in front of him, prohibiting him to open it. He stared at her wide eyed and surprised as she stubbornly blocked the entrance, white as a sheet of paper.

Other voices were heard approaching them through the mansion and her father was suddenly next to her, unyielding and not convinced at all by her tremulous mumbling.

"Please, father." Her voice was weak and almost desperate as she gazed up at him pleadingly. "It's not who you think it is."

He furrowed his brow, staring at her harshly and making her feel as if she was mad. And she probably was.

"I expect someone, Lenore." He spoke coldly, pushing her aside. "I don't have time for your childish plays."

Her breath was practically knocked out of her in the moment he touched the door and opened it, painfully slow in her tortured mind. She brought her hand to her chest, breathing heavily and staring terrified at the shadow that was standing in front of them.

Then it was proven that she was wrong again, for the umpteenth time. It was just another acquaintance of her father, another unknown man.

She made a few steps backwards and turned, the tight knot still hard in the pit of her stomach, threatening to come out. Of course, he wouldn't come right in front of her house and ring at the door. His attacks were sneaky, hidden, not straightforward.

She had to stop going on like that. She had to stop suspecting every man who appeared in her sight.

There had to be an end to that daily torture.

After more than a week in which nothing happened, she started returning to her old, optimistic self. Other beliefs began walking through her mind, beliefs filled with hope, beliefs that brought her again the initial image she had about Ragamuffin, an image in which Ragamuffin wasn't completely evil. Maybe Ragamuffin saved her because he was actually good, deep down inside.

She knew that it was just typical of her to think like that, not to mention extremely naïve. She knew another part of her laughed at that infantile thought. But she couldn't help it. The hope had always been there, to be part of her. It was what characterized her for the most part.

It was like a great battle was taking place inside her. A battle between the fear she had of him and the optimism that gave her an irrational excitement regarding a savage serial killer.

She became so confused about Ragamuffin's gesture that she decided to ask someone about it. Not directly, of course.

"What if someone tries to do something bad to you, but then he suddenly does something good for you?" Lenore abruptly inquired, fixing the maid who was constantly cleaning her bedroom. She turned nervously and bit her lip in thought.

"It depends, my lady." She retorted, fidgeting. "If you did something that changed his mind about you, then maybe his intentions are well natured." She paused, furrowing her brow in concentration. "Or maybe his intentions are not so good after all and he just tries to set you a trap."

Lenore pursed her lips, an uneasiness bothering her stomach again. She tensed up as cold sweat streamed down her unusually pallid skin. What were the odds of someone, who committed hundreds and hundreds of murders, to suddenly spare one little, insignificant being just because he was only supposed to be good, deep down? A being that had also tried to put an end to his immortality.

She already knew the answer and she felt how the paranoid, fearful part was taking over once again.

Although if he actually wanted to kill her, he would have done it until then. Everything was too strange and confusing.

To her surprise, she actually started to chant about him. Lenore used to hum at times when she was alone. She used to hum about everything. About her family, about animals, about the town, about life. About events she passed through, generally.

And she hadn't even been aware of it, until her mother eventually noticed it, when she had been a child.

She didn't realize when she started singing about him or how many times she did it. She just knew that someone would hear her one day and think that her strangeness was a trait that defined her indeed.

Because no one would leisurely sing about a terrifying vampire as if it was something normal.

Even though it helped her. It helped her pass over what happened. It helped her pass over her fears, over her nightmares, over her terrible obsession.

When her mother told her that it was absolutely necessary for her to get out of the house already because her skin color had turned into a sickly gray, the panic returned in full force, capturing the depths of her mind again.

She didn't want to go out there to be exposed to the peril that she still presumed it waited for her, so she promptly refused, tense and somewhat alarmed. When she observed her strange reactions, her mother became even more convinced that Lenore had to go into the outside world and participate at emancipated reunions because her daughter's estrangement from the standard, typical young lady image had become too obvious.

Then her mother decided it was time for Lenore to attend another ceremony, accompanied by her new fiancé, in public. The anger, the frustration, the fear blew her away, so she desperately searched measures for the oncoming, apparently special day. Measures of protection from the possible danger, measures regarding her foolish partner and thinking about excuses through which she could escape from the ceremony as quickly as possible.

A day before the party, Lenore remembered what her mother had told her some time ago. About the garlic. She knew that method might be just as effective as the cross, but she was so desperate, she didn't even care anymore. She had to try anything to protect herself.

She sneaked out of her room and went to the enormous kitchen, where various servants roamed, before she managed to snatch one piece quickly.

One of them saw her at one point, but she just blabbered something that made no sense – like the fact that she was taking some garlic because she wanted to wear it as a pin-, which they accepted, because they all knew how weird the master's daughter was, so her excuse seemed quite plausible to them. Even though she had to admit that the idea of a garlic pin was somewhat tempting.

In that night, she was quieter than usually. She patiently waited for the servants to finish their duties regarding her appearance- which consisted of a long, blue dress which made her mother radiate at the sight of it, because she told her it matched her eyes- as she constantly thought about the precautions she was going to take. After the maid managed to tangle her hair into some sort of complicated loop, she requested to be alone for a few moments, just enough to hide the garlic under the edge of her corset.

Then everything passed as in a storm. She didn't really give importance to the persons that talked to her, she just responded to them as if she was in a daze, her mind being only focused on the fact that she might be in danger.

She was aware that her mother constantly admired her looks and gave her advice of how to behave in public, that her father silently nodded and motioned her to walk to the car that waited for her outside. The car that belonged to her consort, who complimented her and kissed her hand again, almost making her punch him in the face.

They arrived at one of the greatest mansions she had ever seen, a place crowded with people, filled with music and laughs, that annoyed her and made her feel uncomfortable.

Lenore didn't care about any of those. She just wanted that night to pass already.

She stood in a corner, looking at people, her eyes shifting from one side of the room to the other, tense and impatient. The guy who accompanied her, her presumable future husband, talked to her for a while, probably trying to make her behave like a respectable young lady so that she wouldn't make a fool out of him in front of the other guests. She ignored him for the most part, just as she ignored the instinct to murder him.

He left her alone after some time, mumbling some poor excuse like he had business to discuss with some gentlemen, even though he probably left her there because he was most surely embarrassed and bored with her distant, grumpy attitude. Lenore was thankful for that, since she would have been constrained to commit that murder if he stood there longer.

She wasn't aware of how much time she remained there, carefully scanning the room, before she started falling into some sort of strange melancholy. She daydreamed again about the days when she played in the mansion's green yard, singing and running after birds and cats, pretending she was a ballerina. The days when she was younger and brighter and not preoccupied with dark, terrible thoughts. The days when she was free and not obliged by her parents to marry a pathetic, rich buffoon.

Lenore almost smiled, when someone's words suddenly attracted her attention. Words that included her name.

"…that Lynchfast girl doesn't even realize how fortunate she is."

Lenore raised her eyes and searched for the source of the female voice. She managed to spot three elegant girls around her age or slightly older through the crowd, a few feet away from her. They probably didn't know she was there and she made sure they weren't going to see her either, because she backed away and hid behind a group of upper class people. She tried to catch more of what they were saying through all the commotion.

"She is engaged to Howard Wilbur and everyone knows that she has no intention in respecting that marriage, in spite of her parents' efforts." The girl continued.

"Yes, I've noticed that he left her alone around here." Another one retorted. "He's surely had enough with her. I mean, she's just too weird." All three laughed together at the statement, which made Lenore frown.

"I admit that his appearance is not much to look for, but his fortune surely is." They giggled again. "She is such a fool."

She should have expected that. She should have known that people would start talking about her, in the moment her parents had set her marriage with one of the richest men in town. But she didn't foresee that the tattle would revolt her to such an extent.

Lenore turned and walked away from there, wanting to get rid of all those abhorrent persons. She couldn't stand that place anymore, she just wanted to leave already, and she couldn't even find her repugnant companion, since he was the only one who could drive her back home.

Her loath was growing more and more.

She pushed some guests as she created her way through the people, and she could see them throwing her offended looks. Her already not-so-favorable reputation was perhaps going to worsen, but she couldn't care less. She had conformed with the fact that no one would ever want to be her friend. Lenore just carried on her walk, trying not to give them attention.

Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

There was a flash of dark hair and burning eyes across the room, but those eyes weren't directed at her. Her heart lurched in her chest as her limbs began trembling again. She hoped it was just her imagination, she hoped with all her might that those images were just scrapes of her twisted mind, but she couldn't convince herself that they were.

She was aware that the people around her were weirded out by her behavior, even though she didn't have control anymore.

All she wanted was to find out if what she had seen was real or just a product of her imagination.

She wanted to assure herself that the man she had just managed to catch sight of was just a stranger, just like the others. She wanted to be convinced that he wasn't actually there. That it was still just her sick obsession, the fear that was inducing her illusions.

He couldn't possibly be the vampire.

She knew for sure that her precautions had been absurd, because she didn't actually believe he was going to be there, passing through people like he was just an anonymous man, someone who didn't have the status of an infamous murderer.

It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. People would have recognized him.

In spite of the cold horror that took over her, the curiosity and the despair made her step towards what- or who- she thought she saw not more than ten seconds ago. Her hands created space through the oblivious guests, as her blue eyes carefully stared ahead, not observing anything suspicious. The earlier flashes were just gone. Nowhere to find. Like dust in the wind.

Lenore turned her head in all directions, but all she saw was the great mass of joyous, entertained people. No black hair. No dark eyes. No evil features or sharp teeth hidden behind a derisive smile.

She almost exhaled in relief, before what she thought she escaped from suddenly returned in front of her eyes like a shocking light that blinded her, revealed by dark curtains.

She could clearly notice him there, passing between two people, talking normally to what appeared to be a girl that had no idea what terrible fate waited for her.

Lenore couldn't believe it. She was dumbstruck. She couldn't believe that no one realized who he actually was, that no one even gave importance to the danger that hid between them. She didn't manage to spot him for more than a few seconds, but that had been enough for her.

She had no doubt that it was him. She couldn't understand how he was doing it. Maybe he was using his charm, his vampire tricks to make them believe he was a normal person, but what he used clearly wasn't working on her, which confused her terribly. He didn't seem to notice her either and that was what baffled her. Perhaps he just pretended he didn't see her.

Or maybe her insanity aggravated to such an extent that her hallucinations were more vivid than ever.

She was livid and rooted to the floor, wide eyed and tremulous, standing there as she couldn't decide what to do. She had to make sure that it wasn't actually him, but a big part of her was telling her the contrary. She walked forward with shaky movements, leaning on various objects- like chairs or tables- in her way as she followed the vampire's steps or the man who looked like him. Lenore couldn't even think straight while she advanced through those wealthy people. She didn't even know why she did that, when she could easily walk away from there, go in the opposite direction. Her head was already spinning and her thoughts weren't coherent anymore.

She somehow reached a dark, empty hallway after all, but no sight of the vampire or the girl that he was with.

No one was there, which kind of made her wonder. There were rows of doors on each side of the hallway and she guessed they were bedrooms. She rested her back on the right wall and stood there, trying to calm herself down.

He couldn't be there. Even if he was, he couldn't kill anyone in that crowded place.

She could hear voices coming near the hallway, on the same path that she had walked, which absurdly made her back away from the enlightened part of the hall into the shadow covered one, even though she had no reason to do it.

So what if people saw her there, a girl, alone, in a dark hall, staring at the walls? It wasn't like they didn't think she was weird already.

To her ease, the persons that approached the hallway didn't enter it, they just went further, only passing by. Lenore stood there, concealed by the hall's shadows, until those people blended into the swarm.

Her panic had been futile, just like always, her hallucinations deceiving her once again. She closed her eyes and exhaled heavily for some moments, trying to block all the music, all the sounds, trying to concentrate on the hallway's petrified silence.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Lenore froze. She couldn't hear anything apart from his voice, his words that echoed in her mind, banging loudly inside her head. Her muscles, every fiber rippled with terror as her mouth opened involuntarily to escape a sound, a whimper, a scream, anything.

Nothing came out of her, because his cold hand covered her mouth as his other arm trapped her into a lock, impending her from making any move.

She struggled with all her force, but it was soon drained by his, as he was probably infinitely stronger than her. Tears filled her eyes, from fear and frustration, because she was powerless in front of him. He brought her to his chest, clutching her tighter, before he backed away even further into the darkness of the hall, bringing her with him.

"Just hold still." He spoke into her hair. His voice was calm and void of any feeling. "Why are you constantly following me? Is not enough for you that I let you live when I could have easily killed you? Are you suicidal or what?"

Lenore felt sick with nervousness. She barely managed to turn her head and glance up at his emotionless expression. Her heart was madly hammering and her stomach was churning.

What was he talking about? She thought _he _followed her there, not the other way around. He was the one who wanted to get revenge, to murder her.

She mumbled something, but her words were muffled by his hand that was covering her mouth. To her surprise, he took his hand away, without threatening her that he would kill her if she screamed. He just waited for her to speak again.

And Lenore did it. Without screaming, to her absolute puzzlement.

"_You_ f-followed m-me here." She tremulously breathed. "You're mad because I tried to set y-you on fire and you're t-trying to kill me n-now, aren't you?"

The silence that followed was longer than she had anticipated. He didn't change his expression. In fact, he became even more unreadable, if that was possible.

"No. I've come here for other reasons. You just accidentally saw me through these people and went after me. That doesn't sound like I'm the one who follows you." He spoke as Lenore blinked at him, eyes watery and big. "But you make sense. I should want revenge after what you tried to do to me." There was a heavy pause. "Except I have no intention in killing you, especially not right now. " His mouth curled in distaste. "Even if I want to eat you, I can't, because you smell awful."

Lenore widened her eyes as what she had hoped since the moment she put the garlic beneath her dress turned out to be true. It was actually working.

She almost forgot about her fear and about the fact that she was indeed speaking to a vampire and probably the most savage killer ever, because the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up triumphantly.

"So it works!" Lenore concluded, almost too enthusiastic for her liking. "Vampires can't actually stand garlic!" She was aware that she sounded ridiculous, even puerile.

She could see him give her a dry stare, unbelieving and somewhat annoyed.

"Are you serious?" He inquired. She nodded and pointed towards the upper part of her dress, the place where she had hidden the piece of garlic. "I just can't stand garlic because I've never liked it, not even when I was human. It has nothing to do with me being a vampire."

Lenore gawked at him.

"Really? Why don't you like it?" She felt quite strange asking him about a common subject like that, when he could easily kill her in any moment. He probably felt weird too, because he furrowed his brow in bewilderment. She sensed his tight clutch loosening until he completely released her from his hold.

Lenore quickly paced forward and put a distance between them fast, turning around and facing him, still fearful.

"Because I don't." He said bemused. "It's irrelevant, anyway." He carried on, frowning. "Just stop following me. You should be thankful that I took the decision not to kill you. Don't constrain me to do it."

She stared at him, really perplexed. She wanted to find out why he didn't want to kill her, to ask him, but, as always, she only ended up speaking without even thinking first.

"So if you don't want to kill me… then you actually want to be my friend?"

He stared hard for a moment. Lenore bit her lip in nervousness and averted her eyes, somewhat embarrassed that she let herself carried away and said that. Then he furrowed his brow again.

"Don't say such weird things." He retorted, his voice stiff. "And stop repeating my name daily."

She leapt as her eyes enlarged in intense shock.

"What?"

"I can hear when people mention my name, but I don't give them importance. Still, when someone repeats it so many times, it catches my attention." He stated darkly.

That meant…he had heard her chanting about him, all those times.

That was terrifying. Just the idea itself, the thought that he was actually hearing her when she hummed alone, in her room or in the yard, it was… panicking.

They quietly stared at each other. She just couldn't believe that he wanted to spare her. Lenore had to ask him why, she had to know why, but, before she said anything, a male voice suddenly spoke behind her, at the end of the hall.

"Lenore?"

She brusquely turned her head to see Wilbur beaming at her. She whirled again towards the dark part of the hallway, but it was empty. He wasn't there anymore.

It was like he evaporated in thin air.

Lenore blinked and stared at the hall, her heartbeat, though slowed down, was still loud inside her chest. She was astounded, left with no words after what had just happened. She had met him again and he didn't kill her. Even more, he didn't even want to kill her. They had even talked like two normal persons- well, almost normal- but they had done it.

Lenore knew she should give up, she should renounce at that wanting, but she couldn't help it. Enthusiasm and eagerness were slowly enveloping her heart and mind.

She was taking everything from the beginning again.

She reluctantly took a turn, still staring at the place where Ragamuffin had been, not more than a few seconds ago. It was to be expected he could suddenly disappear like that.

When she got closer to Wilbur, she noticed him looking towards the spot she had been staring at and frowning when he couldn't see anything but an empty, dark hall.

"What are you doing here, alone?" He asked in slight confusion.

Lenore was suddenly drawn back to reality. She looked up to see that annoying smile, before she knitted her brow as her mouth twisted downwards. She barely abstained from ignoring him.

"Nothing."

…

Buildings passed before her eyes, as she gazed on the car's window, on her way back home. Old buildings, new ones, empty, cold streets and walls with pictures. Pictures with him, staring at the world with dark, hypnotizing eyes from behind a black and white painting. Making her want to know what was hiding beneath them, twisting and turning her mind.

Curiosity had never been one of her positive attributes. She had always tried to get rid of that trait, a trait that had been excessive since she knew herself. And she was certain she wasn't going to get rid of it too soon, either.

There was the moon's pale light, the black sky and a shadow that faded into the night as fast as she blinked.

She knew she should cower in fear, be horrified by it, like any other being.

The corners of her mouth strangely curled up instead.


End file.
